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Wesley Van Helmond doubles at race real dirt 2018

The second edition of the international event called “race real dirt” was held over the weekend. MAC Vlijmen was the host of this event with a nice prepared flowing clay track. The three-day event started with a full day of free practice on Saturday 19 may followed by 2WD Buggy on Sunday and 4WD buggy on Monday. During free practice a lot of laps where turned and the track started to groove up, making it faster and more consistence to drive. With good weather planned for the racedays this was the perfect condition for a good race. On Sunday morning, it was immediately clear that the top of the list was very close and great racing was in the making. After the first qualification, Wesley van Helmond was on top of the list. He wasn’t so fortunate in Q2, where a last lap crash allowed Bruno Heremans to take the top spot. However, after four heats of qualification it was Wouter Wynen with a win in Q3 & Q4 who secured his pole position.

2wd Buggy after Q4:

TQ Wouter Wynen (BEL)

Wesley van Helmond (NED)

Bruno Heremans (BEL)

Paul Dijkstra (NED)

Marco Briers (BEL)

Steve Lambrechts (BEL)

Tom van Drunen (NED)

Patrick Lievens (NED)

Ronald Joostema (NED)

Hans Smit (NED)

After the start signal of the first A-final it was immediately clear that it would be a tight battle between the top drivers. Wynen was leading the race from the start with pressure from behind. Van Helmond clearly had more raw speed but wasn’t able to pass until lap 7 where Wynen went a bit wide handing the lead to van Helmond.A2 was again a tight battle between van Helmond and Wynen up front. But after the flag it was van Helmond who managed to secure the highest step of the podium by finishing just a few tenths in front of Wynen. Just behind them it was Bruno Heremans was able to record his second third place. In A3 a small mistake in lap five from Wynen made him lose three spots allowing van Helmond to cruise to his third win and Heremans and Briers to fight for the second spot. After five minutes, Briers were able to secure his second spot and third place overall. With two second places in A1 & A2 it was Wouter Wynen who went home with the second place overall.

A-final 2wd final results:

Wesley van Helmond (NED)

Wouter Wynen (BEL)

Marco Briers (BEL)

Bruno Heremans (BEL)

Steve Lambrechts (BEL)

Tom van Drunen (NED)

Paul Dijkstra (NED)

Ronald Joostema (NED)

Hans Smit (NED)

Patrick Lievens (NED)

In the very competitive B-final there where some tight battles between the pack with every final a mixed outcome. However, young talent Esmeé Briers was able to secure the overall B-final win in the last final.

Monday it was time to unleash the 4WD buggies. With the smooth track and high grip conditions we know this was going to be fast and spectacular. The day after van Helmond took his 2wd victory he showed his 4wd speed where on point as well taking Q1. But it was Erik Michiels who was able to put down the quickest 5 minutes in Q2.In Q3 and Q4 van Helmond was again the fastest car on track followed by Marco Briers and Bart van Echelpoel.

4wd Buggy after Q4:

TQ Wesley van Helmond (NED)

Erik Michiels (BEL)

Marco Briers (BEL)

Bart Van Echelpoel (BEL)

Dominique van Helmond (NED)

Patrick Lievens (NED)

Kristof van Echelpoel (BEL)

Paul Dijkstra (NED)

Jo Degeest (BEL)

Esmeé Briers (BEL)

A1 saw Wesley van Helmond pulling a gap from pole and never look back. This allowed Erik Michiels, Bart van Echelpoel and Brother Dominique van Helmond to have a trilling fight for the second spot. Nevertheless, after some close racing Michiels was able to take this position just a few tenths in front of van Echelpoel. The second final was not very different where Wesley drove away to secure his overall victory. Right behind him there was again a tight battle, but with some other names in the mix. It Erik Michiels again followed by Marco Briers and Paul Dijkstra. Fighting for that second spot. After a solid drive of Briers, he was able to finish second. In A3 Wesley van Helmond made an early mistake what made him fall back to the back of the field, starting to slowly move up the field. However, with the first place open it was now a tight battle for the lead, unfortunately a small crash of the leader in lap 5 affected the drivers behind him allowing the number five car Dominique van Helmond to take the lead. Dominique wasn’t planning on handing this spot over to anyone and drove a solid drive to the finish taking the win of A3. Brother Wesley moved up in the meantime to second place just in front of Marco Briers. This intense last final moved Dominique van Helmond in second place overall and Marco Briers third.

A-final 4wd final results:

Wesley van Helmond (NED)

Dominique van Helmond (NED)

Marco Briers (BEL)

Erik Michiels (NED)

Bart Van Echelpoel (BEL)

Paul Dijkstra (NED)

Patrick Lievens (NED)

Kristof van Echelpoel (BEL)

Esmeé Briers (BEL)

Jo Degeest (BEL)

In the B-final, BQ-guy Koen Middelkoop took the win after securing B1 and B3. With a win in B2 Peter Nielen secured his second spot.